- ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters -- Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 -- City of Aliso Viejo section (pages 71-73 of 188): confirms City Council District 2 (2 qualified candidates) and District 3, Short Term (2 qualified candidates) as the city's two November 2026 races, each Vote for 1, plus every candidate's filed ballot designation and, for District 3, the outgoing incumbent of record (Richard Hurt)
- avcity.org (opens in a new tab)City of Aliso Viejo -- City Council page: the sitting 5-member roster (Mayor Max Duncan, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Munzing, Councilmembers Tiffany Ackley, Garrett Dwyer, and Tim Zandbergen), confirms the city moved to by-district elections starting in 2024, and confirms the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem are chosen annually by the council rather than directly elected
- avcity.org (opens in a new tab)City of Aliso Viejo -- Councilmember Garrett Dwyer's official bio: confirms his October 2025 appointment to the District 3 seat, term expiring November 2026, plus his occupational and community-service background
Last updated August 31, 2026.
City of Aliso Viejo
Aliso Viejo City Council, District 3 (Short Term)
This person holds your district's seat on Aliso Viejo's five-member City Council. Members vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. Aliso Viejo has no separately elected Mayor. Instead, the council picks a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem each year. Both come from the council's own members. This term is short. The winner finishes a departed member's term instead of serving a full four years.
Appointed incumbent Garrett Dwyer is running to keep their District 3 seat. They face challenger Marie Tsaasan. The term is short. The winner finishes the rest of elected incumbent Richard Hurt's term. The top vote getter on November 3 wins outright.
This person holds District 3's seat on Aliso Viejo's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. An appointed city manager runs day-to-day operations. Aliso Viejo is a general-law city. It has no separately elected citywide Mayor. The council picks a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem from its own members each year. This term is short, as the note below explains. The winner finishes the rest of a departed councilmember's term. That is less than a full 4 years.
Richard Hurt was elected to this seat in 2024. He left it before his term ended. The council appointed Garrett Dwyer to fill the vacancy in October 2025. This November's short-term election lets voters decide who finishes that term. It is their first chance to do so. Dwyer has their own city bio, and Tsaasan has their filed occupation. Beyond those, no campaign site, news coverage, or other source was found for either candidate. A real search effort was made. That gap is set out below rather than filled in with guesses.
Garrett Dwyer
Garrett Dwyer was appointed to the District 3 council seat in October 2025. They filled the vacancy left by Richard Hurt. They now run to keep it for the rest of the term. Their city bio lists 23 years as a residential mortgage loan officer. It says they value the city's schools, parks, and street safety. They list no policy priorities.
Marie Tsaasan
Marie Tsaasan filed under the ballot title Teacher and Mother. No campaign site or news coverage was found. No other source describes their background or platform.
Your pick
A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.